


Affinity

by luckyyeol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: BetaVerse, Community: chenpionships, Fluff, Jongdae is tired and doesn't take crap, M/M, Omegaverse, Sehun is quiet, Slow Build, Wolf!AU, but only if you look for it, but the only omega is bbh?, if that's a thing, it also seems a bit like chanyeol x jongdae in the beginning but its not, university!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 17:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11994309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckyyeol/pseuds/luckyyeol
Summary: Jongdae found himself at the start of a new semester and the target of the school’s most loved alpha’s affections. Which was unfortunate because he’ll be damned if that shy alpha hiding behind Chanyeol isn’t the most beautiful thing that Jongdae has ever seen.So, if a guy is hitting on you and he is clearly the alpha in the group of guys, go for the third in command and undermine their whole power structure.





	Affinity

Kim Jongdae was stressed, slightly depressed, and very well dressed. To be fair, it was a private school, so everyone was well dressed.

 

Jongdae was born into one of the very well-known and respected families in the large suburb of Elir. He was also the only son of one of the five beta clans; all of their children were always held to a very high standard. The children could only provide the best performance from all aspects of education, sports, and music. Because of this, Jongdae didn’t have much of a ‘normal’ social life, he found that his time was often spent on his studies and how well he was doing in them.

 

The Elir Day Academy was known and ranked to be one of the best for all werewolves due to the balance of the curriculum and level of academics. Most of the day was dedicated to classroom education but there was always the opportunity of classes and electives involving the wolf side of the students with sections of time per day dedicated to runs in the forest. Students such as Jongdae stuck strictly with just the academic classes since they were planning for higher education eventually.

 

The conglomeration of many three and four story tall brick buildings greeted Jongdae on the daily walk of the campus into the side entrance near the student parking lot. The school was nestled in a large 50 acre area with an entire forest of trees creating a cool and foggy atmosphere, nearing the end of the cold winter season to greet the temperamental spring.

  


On the morning of the final semester, Jongdae’s pants were too baggy and his hair an uncombed, windblown mess. He spent every last minute until the midnight deadline completing the final report on the reactivity of chemicals in different environments. Unfortunately, the corrections cost him precious sleeping time. There were a few aspects of his morning routine that he lost out on doing, like finding the right pair of pants.

 

The change of semesters wasn’t a big deal, Jongdae kept a few of his main classes at the same time, but switched around for his two easier classes of Advanced Finance and Philosophy 200.

 

Jongdae walked through the halls with the drag of a man running on less than four hours of legitimately good sleep and only a half cup of coffee swallowed down as he was running out the door to his car.

 

When Jongdae got to his locker, he could tell that something was different in the surrounding air. He could feel it as the hallway radiated with the strength of alphas, so he straightened his back and looked down the hall in both directions. Usually, the school was just a jumbled mess of alpha and omega nearly everywhere, beta scent being very rare and the only surefire way for Jongdae to find his best friends. The specific hallway that Jongdae’s locker was in were only for omegas and betas, the alpha hallways were located on the west side of the main hall.This gigantic and strong wall of pure alpha scent probably could have knocked Jongdae over, he thought. It certainly wasn’t usual.

 

The clear alpha of all alphas in the group of three was the tallest, wearing a very well pressed school-issued blazer paired with perfectly creased navy dress pants. Everything about him screamed polished and perfect, not a single deep red hair out of place. He walked with complete confidence as if he knew that the other students would fall to their knees if he asked. His clear eyes caught the fluorescent lights of the ceiling and shined. You could put a crown on his head and it would not look out of place.

 

Jongdae deduced that this must be the son of the most powerful alpha family of the town’s massive pack. He knew of quite a few influential families, as it was nearly impossible not to, but only intermingled with the beta families. His father liked it more that way, so Jongdae’s best friend selection pool was pretty much limited from childhood. Not that he really minded, as he loved Minseok, Kyungsoo, and Baekhyun very much.

  


Jongdae started to get the feeling that the mini alpha pack was coming specifically towards him at his locker and snapped his head back to focus on looking busy by grabbing new notebooks for his new classes. Arms full of binders and books, Jongdae slowly peeked to his right side where now stood three very tall alphas. He flinched a bit due to the tallest one with dark red hair, eyes sweeping up and down his figure as he was clearly checking him out for the first time. Jongdae felt a bit confused.

  


“So, I thought happiness began with an H, why does it begin with a U?” The red-haired one spoke with a growing smile.

 

Jongdae narrowed his eyes in confusion. “My name is Jongdae. It starts with a J.”

 

The confident smile faded into confusion as the tall front-man was, in a rare moment, lost for words. Jongdae felt kind of bad, but he didn’t really get the joke, if that’s what it was. Flirting maybe? It was too early in the morning for Jongdae to tell. The two tall alphas flanking the redhead were trying to keep in their laughter, eye smiles bright and happy.

 

“Um, that usually works...I’m Park Chanyeol, by the way! It’s nice to meet you!”

 

“Nice to meet you Chanyeol...” Jongdae returned.

 

 

Park Chanyeol.

 

Jongdae definitely had heard of him, but hadn’t paid legitimate attention to every single fact and detail. Chanyeol seemed to be known as _that_ guy around campus. Jongdae hadn’t ever met him, though they had been in the same school for the past three years. He didn’t feel like being caught up in the drama that seemed to follow the stereotypical possessive and demanding alphas of school anyway. Chanyeol had a rumored long history of creating relationships just for a very short time until he didn’t feel anything towards the other and ended it. Sometimes it was within a few days, or on occasion stretching to no more than three weeks. At least he didn’t drag people along for no good reason?

 

Jongdae didn’t even want to be a part of a relationship, he felt that he was too busy and too stressed out for giving someone that amount of time and dedication. Not only that, Jongdae just felt more comfortable with his close-knit circle of friends. Sure, if the right person came along, Jongdae would be "down" for it, but he didn’t feel as if Chanyeol was The One.

  


“That was one of his many terrible attempts at a pick-up line, sorry about that. I’m Jongin, we are in the same Finance class, right? I saw your name on the class list.” The least tall alpha on Chanyeol’s right side spoke up after hiding his laughter.

 

Jongdae definitely knew of Jongin and the other male standing close by. Jongin also looked very well presented, with a golden caramel hair color that caught the light in the most beautiful of ways. They hadn’t really gotten to know each other well, but there was no possible way that Jongdae could have missed seeing the famous trio. Known for being from a physically and ancestrally strong family, exceedingly wealthy, and extremely good-looking, the three alphas were just about every girl and guy’s dream.

 

“Yeah, I’ve seen you around school before. It’s nice to meet you!”

 

“Likewise! This is Sehun, he’s just a bit quiet but don’t take the resting bitch face to heart. He’s really a softie.” A beautiful black haired boy, Sehun, angrily but gently reached over and smacked Jongin’s arm before making a small and quiet whining noise in protest.

 

Jongdae didn’t get too great of a look at Sehun to begin with. He had hid himself mostly behind Chanyeol’s back, completely engrossed in whatever he was scribbling down into a spiral notebook or laughing with Jongin.

 

Jongdae took a few seconds to openly stare. Sure, Chanyeol and Jongin were attractive, but there was just _something_ about Sehun that Jongdae’s mind clicked with.

 

Perhaps it was the way that Sehun’s eyes were full of wonder and emotion when he looked at Jongdae. Or the cute way that he hid halfway behind Chanyeol when the three walked in the hallway. He was clearly an alpha as Jongdae could tell, but there was something about him that was more unique, especially how he wasn’t one to completely take charge and be demanding towards others.

 

Jongdae was interested in this Sehun very, very much.

 

But Jongdae’s reverie was broken by Chanyeol clearing his throat. Loudly.

 

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m also late to class. Come on guys. Nice meeting you Jongdae! We’ll talk again soon!” Turning on his heel, Chanyeol walked briskly back up the hallway which had quickly filled with the air of jealousy and temperament. Jongin shot Jongdae a quick sympathetic smile and waved goodbye before running to catch up with Chanyeol and Sehun.

 

“Okay then,” Jongdae muttered to himself as he walked up the hallway to find his first classroom. Jealous alphas.

  

~

 

A chorus of ‘hello’s from Minseok, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo greeted Jongdae as he dropped his stack of notebooks and binders onto the lunch table. Baekhyun raised his head shortly to smile in greeting but went back to cramming for next period’s homework, Kyungsoo waved and gestured for Jongdae to sit next to him.

 

“How is everything going with the semester change?” Minseok asked from across the table.

 

“The classes are fine, philosophy isn’t as bad as I was thinking but finance is honestly so boring I could cry. I swear I’m gonna fall asleep half the time.”

 

Kyungsoo nodded in agreement, he had Advanced Finance last semester and really didn’t like the teacher either. “More importantly, what’s with the rumors I’ve heard already about a certain ‘dark haired beta’ with a ‘fiery personality’ that has caught the interested eye of Park Chanyeol?

 

Jongdae cocked his head in confusion. He was obviously the ‘dark haired beta with a fiery personality’, there were only five other betas in the school of two thousand. Minseok and Kyungsoo were two of the five as well as Jongdae’s closest friends ever since childhood. And those two were anything but ‘fire-y’. But how did Kyungsoo hear about Chanyeol so soon, it had been less than four hours since they ‘met’.

 

“I don’t even know. Why the hell would there be rumors already? He just came up to me this morning with Jongin and Sehun trailing behind him like cute puppies. It wasn’t terrible, just really embarrassing because everyone in the hallway was staring at us. You guys know I hate that.”

 

“I’m sure they just wanted to be you in that instance, Chanyeol is pretty picky with who he approaches even if he has had quite a few relationships.”  Baekhyun said, not looking up from his work.

 

“Well they can have his attention. I don’t want it.”

 

“...No offense Jongdae, you know I love you, but really? He’s so hot...and I’m pretty sure he’s the most eligible guy in this entire school! He’s completely loaded, gorgeous, and his family has tons of influence and power.”

 

Jongdae sighed. “Baekhyun, you know I don’t care about that stuff. All of this status crap will fade eventually and it won’t matter at all. Those aren’t the reasons why I would be interested in someone, romantically or not.”

 

Kyungsoo smiled proudly and patted Jongdae’s hair. “Always the wisest one.”

 

“What the hell, Kyungsoo, you said that to me last week! But...I’m the oldest, which automatically makes me the wisest!” Minseok whined and pouted at the other before poking around at his lunch dejectedly.

 

Jongdae was very thankful for the direction change away from his Chanyeol Struggles. The atmosphere was brighter and happier, and Jongdae happily dug into his packed lunch of noodles and laughed along with Baekhyun at Minseok’s distress.

  


 ~

 

Days passed and weeks went by. Before he knew it, Jongdae had been dealing with Chanyeol and his terrible (sometimes endearing) pick up lines for an entire month, every single day without fail.

 

Weekends at home were Jongdae’s only reprieve, even getting to school at a different time didn’t change anything, as Chanyeol always found a clever way to catch up with Jongdae in the halls and eagerly tell him the pick up line of the day. Underneath it all, sure, Jongdae was beyond flattered that someone of Chanyeol’s status took such an intense interest, and it didn’t seem to be just because he was a beta. Chanyeol never said a word about any of that, asking about his family perhaps once or twice during a conversation attempt of ‘getting to know you’.

 

Truth be told, Jongdae had grown to appreciate two parts of Chanyeol’s daily visits: Jongin’s solid friendship and the slowly growing companionship with Sehun.

 

Jongin, the ‘second in command’ was always smiling at Jongdae and being open and platonically friendly to him during the classes they shared, which is more than he could say about 80 percent of the school’s alphas. Jongdae caught him frequently rolling his eyes during Chanyeol’s morning greetings, which made Jongdae feel a lot better about cringing about the whole situation. He was genuinely very fun and relaxing to be around.

 

Sehun, the quiet and soft black-haired alpha, still remained as Jongdae’s favorite alpha with a growing presence in his heart. Their friendship also grew with time, but always had a bit more of a hesitant flirtatious nature to it. Definitely lots more blushing occurred with Sehun than it did around Jongin. Jongdae noticed within the first week that Sehun was more willing to open up to him than anyone else. He would sometimes start the conversations and walk alongside him in the hallways, but Sehun would always accept his company and take part in whatever Jongdae wanted to talk about for the day.

 

Some days, Jongdae felt absolutely terrible when he overheard the general consensus at school about Sehun. Sure, they admired him for his looks but they didn’t seem to value his personality and who he really was. Most students were confused as to how Chanyeol pulled Sehun into the elite group when Sehun was so different and very introverted. Alphas were supposed to be completely confident and typically were extroverted. People thought that Sehun couldn’t possibly be an alpha, because his personality was too soft and too weak. They still loved him for his outward appearance, which Sehun did not find comfort in.

Sehun was simply more reserved and shy around mostly everyone, including Jongdae at times, who had a very strong feeling that there was a vast part of Sehun’s personality that just had to be discovered with persistence.

 

It was very safe to say that Jongdae had developed a slight crush on Sehun.

  
  


Kyungsoo was the first of Jongdae’s friends to really notice the interest with Minseok following shortly behind. Baekhyun was still a bit clueless about it all, even through the rare occasions when Jongdae would invite Sehun over to the lunch table when Chanyeol and Jongin weren’t at school. Kyungsoo swears it’s because Baekhyun hasn’t grown out of the Chanyeol Fascination Phase that he has been living in since forever.  
  
The lunch table soon became a center for discussions on Jongdae’s romantic interests and disinterests, sometimes loudly and openly by Baekhyun or hushed by Kyungsoo. Minseok typically ate while working on note sheets for classes.

  


“So Jongdae, as your best friend you know that I care about you, right?” Jongdae furrowed his eyebrows at the suspicious way that Kyungsoo started talking, he nodded even though he was very confused. “I was just wondering if you have a crush on Sehun. I don’t want us all to keep on teasing about it if there’s really nothing there. But if you do like him, I speak for us all when I say that we want you to be happy, whether that is Sehun or someone else.”

 

He debated denying his developing crush, but with Baekhyun being completely in tune to the gossip of school, Minseok being extremely observant and protective, and Kyungsoo being the best friend that Jongdae could never ever lie to, Jongdae knew there was no use denying.

 

“I may have...growing feelings for Sehun. But you guys know how he’s never in a relationship, I’m too scared to risk it past just having feelings for him.” Jongdae ran his hands through his hair in stress. The table was silent; Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, Minseok all sitting there patiently with warm expressions. If Jongdae didn’t know any better, he would say that they already knew for sure that Jongdae liked Sehun.

 

Minseok broke out in a wide smile, “That’s great that you like him! We’re pretty sure that he likes you too, the cold ice prince of Elir doesn’t typically show the slightest of affection to anyone here. Maybe his soul was just waiting for you to come along!”

 

Jongdae’s chest felt a blossom of warmth with the thought that he could have a soulmate, especially one as kind and handsome as Oh Sehun. “That would be nice. I wouldn’t be alone forever and waste my energy into raising twenty dogs instead.”

 

Kyungsoo laughed. “Any energy you put into Sehun will never be wasted energy. Give it some time and soon enough you two will be together and happy.”

  
~

 

Early on a Monday in March, a double shot of espresso in his morning coffee was the only thing keeping Jongdae from growling at every single passerby in annoyance. Being tired made him very, very cranky.

 

Running into Kyungsoo and sloshing his drink all around his hand and the floor only made Jongdae further on edge.

 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry Jongdae, I didn’t see you coming! Here, let’s go to the bathroom so that the coffee won’t get all sticky on your hands from the sugar.” Jongdae nodded, allowing himself to be gently led by Kyungsoo to the nearest bathroom.

 

Kyungsoo, being the best friend that he was, noticed that today wasn’t a Talk to Jongdae Day, so he hummed a melody along the way rather than attempt a conversation. It always helped to calm Jongdae down when they were just kids and it never failed to do so as they got older.

 

He pulled Jongdae by their interlocked hands over to the sink and got him paper towels. Jongdae finished and accepted the towels. Softly pulling Kyungsoo into a hug, Jongdae tucked himself into Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “I’m so tired.”

 

Kyungsoo hummed in agreement as he hugged him tightly, patting Jongdae’s back. “I know Jongdae, I know. It’s just a few more months left. Then, you can move on to new places.”

 

“Thank god,” Jongdae grumbled and detached himself from the warm Kyungsoo hug. They were foolproof in making Jongdae feel okay. He pushed his way out of the bathroom and back to the loud hallways, wishing that the day was over and he could go home to his bed to sleep.

 

Jongdae navigated his way through the crowds to his pale blue locker, number 572. Gathering his history, finance, and philosophy binders, Jongdae was interrupted by a very loud (at least, for 7:30 in the morning) and excited voice calling, “Jongdae!” from a distance away. Which meant only one thing, Chanyeol was a few seconds down the hallway.

 

Jongdae closed his eyes and sighed. Just what he didn’t want to have to go through on an already shitty morning.

 

“I don’t have a library card, but do you mind if I check you out?” Chanyeol beamed at Jongdae, clearly having a far better morning. Sehun and Jongin were in a world of their own as they spoke hushed a few steps behind Chanyeol and Jongdae.

 

“...You used that one last week, Chanyeol. Now can I please get to my class? Perhaps unlike you, I actually care about getting to class on time.”

 

Jongdae looked over the top rim of his dark framed glasses (he was too tired to put in contacts) at Chanyeol who was leaning on a nearby locker and looking him up and down with a grin. Looks like he didn’t need Jongdae’s permission from the pick up line anyway.

 

“Oh, but my Jongdae, classics never get old.” Jongdae rolled his eyes and gently moved Chanyeol the few inches necessary to attempt his way up the hallway to his class.

 

“I’m not _your_ Jongdae, for the last time Chanyeol. I’m not anyone’s, and definitely not yours in a million years.”

 

The air was thick with tension and annoyance coming from Jongdae, no one speaking during an intense staring match (more like glaring for Jongdae). Sehun and Jongin stopped their own conversation, both looking equally tense.

 

“So anyways. What are you doing this weekend?”

 

Jongdae could have screamed.

 

First the sleeping through his alarm and failing to put in his contacts, then spilling his hot and sticky coffee, and now Chanyeol not getting the ‘leave me alone’ hints. “Literally nothing that concerns you. Now if you would excuse me, it’s Monday. Which means I’m exhausted and definitely not feeling like having to deal with your attempts at flirting today. Goodbye.”

 

Purposefully brushing past Chanyeol and letting his shoulder bump gently, Jongdae stormed away with a tight grip on his backpack strap.

  


“I think you’re just annoying him at this point Chanyeol.” Sehun prodded Chanyeol’s arm to get his attention away from glaring tiny holes into Jongdae’s backpack.

 

“He’s just playing hard to get. At least, I think so? He’ll come around to me someday.” Chanyeol frowned. It’s not that he was expecting Jongdae, who was known to be a bit on the rebellious and outspoken side of things, to look at him daily with stars in his eyes. It would have been nice, because Chanyeol was starting to develop legitimate feelings towards the small beta. The chase was fun, but Jongdae’s personality and history was like an enigma that fascinated Chanyeol. His cute smiles and adorable pissed-off expression were so adorable in Chanyeol’s eyes.

 

Once Chanyeol had his eye set on a specific person, he would not abandon his pursuit for any reason until he got what he wanted. And with Jongdae being one of seven Betas, it just made Chanyeol more protective and more adamant in the whole ordeal. Betas typically had the issue of people wanting to snatch them up for their title, and for no better reasons than that. Chanyeol thought Jongdae being a beta was cool, but he could tell something more romantic was growing inside.

 

And Chanyeol usually got whatever he desired, so being told ‘no’ with the frequency that Jongdae has been doing was a very unusual thing. It confused yet intrigued Chanyeol.

 

Jongin and Sehun were Chanyeol’s second and third in command, respectively. Not that they weren’t allowed to, but they did not develop interest in Chanyeol’s romantic pursuits. Jongin was known to have the eye for Jongdae’s best friend, but didn’t go after him in the way that Chanyeol would one of his interests. As for Sehun, he did not have any relationships that Jongdae or his friends knew of.

  
~

 

Finance class with Sehun and Jongin passed very quickly with the two of them not acting like anything had happened with the blow up at Chanyeol in the morning. Sehun made a fantastic partner for the worksheet, he (nearly) always had a kind of insight that Jongdae just didn’t quite have to answer some of the very tough questions.  
  
Jongdae learned that Sehun was likely a huge fan of classical music when his ringtone went off, startling the class to the tune of Vivaldi’s Winter before reaching into his dress pants to shut it off very quickly.

 

Because of this, Jongdae also learned that a blushing Sehun was the most endearing Sehun. He made a mental note to start up a conversation about classical music because he too enjoyed the peaceful genre.

  


Lunch was followed by a terribly boring study hall, made slightly better by Jongin’s presence and questions about the finance lecture earlier in the day. Sehun had been busy in the library printing off his report for history class, Jongdae made a mental note to give him the bag of pretzels the next time he saw Sehun in case he didn’t have anything to eat for lunch.

 

The two bounced ideas off each other for their midterm essay project, the conversation swaying between capital budgeting and each other’s lives outside of school. The short 50 minutes were up just as Jongin was finishing yet another story about how the love of his life (one of his dogs; Jjangah) had gotten lost at the park last week and he spent hours running around before finding her sleeping under a large tree beside the swings.

 

“Hey hyung! Wait up!” Jongdae looked up from packing away his notes to see Jongin quickly shoving papers into his navy backpack as he also packed up to leave. Slinging it onto his shoulders, Jongin came over to Jongdae’s side of the table and leaned down to his ear.

 

“Don’t read too much into Chanyeol being the way he is. He just thinks that it’s the only way to win someone over since it has worked with every person he’s had the slightest crush on since middle school. I think he’s forgetting that his existence is probably what people fall for, not the stuff he does to flirt with them.”

 

“Even if I was interested, it certainly wouldn’t be helpful!” Jongdae laughed. Some of Chanyeol’s flirting ideas were beyond cheesy. Endearing, but not something Jongdae was looking for.

 

“Yeah, I was kinda getting that vibe that you weren’t romantically into him. And that’s totally okay, but it hasn’t happened to Chanyeol before. It’s not your fault, the heart wants what it wants! Speaking of which...” Jongin trailed off and grinned in the direction outside of the classroom door where Sehun was patiently waiting to walk with Jongdae to their next class.

 

Jongdae’s face flushed. Why did it seem that everyone knew of his slowly growing interest when he has told no one, except his very close best friends at the lunch table. But Kyungsoo and Minseok wouldn’t tell anyone. Baekhyun probably wouldn’t, especially if Jongdae asked him not to. Jongin was just smart.

  
“Jongdae, hurry! We’re going to be late!” Sehun called out as he worked his way into the classroom to collect the other.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow Jongin, don’t forget to finish the last problems of your homework!” Jongdae waved goodbye as he hiked his heavy backpack up onto his shoulders and walked alongside Sehun out of the classroom. He certainly didn’t miss to look back and see the way Jongin was beaming at the pair before exiting behind them out the door.  

  
  


After the morning interaction with Chanyeol, Jongdae was surprised to find that the other actually left him alone for the rest of the school day. Typically, he was approached by Chanyeol at least twice daily with one time being right before he headed to his first three classes, once in a while at lunch, but always after the bell rang as Jongdae gathered his items to leave for the day. Sometimes, Chanyeol would pass by in the hallway, smiling and switching sides of the hall to walk with Jongdae, but those were just the times of casual friendly conversation.

 

“What, did you wake up on the right side of the bed or something? You don’t look like you want to rip out your hair for the first time in two weeks.” Baekhyun questioned when the friend group gathered around Minseok’s and Jongdae’s cars to head home.

 

“You know about all the stuff with Chanyeol, right?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“He didn’t approach me at all for the rest of the day. Sure, its flattering, but I’m not interested in him in the slightest bit whatsoever. And when he does it, everyone stares and it feels so awkward. The break was nice.”

 

Baekhyun sighed. “I still think you’re the only person in this school aside from Kyungsoo and Minseok that isn’t in love with Chanyeol, ninety-nine percent of this school would kill to be in your place probably. But I’m glad it made your day go by easier.”

 

Jongdae shrugged. He couldn’t help but follow what his heart desired. Soulmates weren’t a proven thing, but Jongdae’s mother strongly believed that the heart knows exactly who it wants to be with.

 

“I don’t think we are meant to be, and at this point, my parents are pushing for me to find someone. Besides, I think everyone that knows about Sehun thinks that we would be a cute couple, so word must have gotten to him somehow. And since I’ve already told you, I do like him...quite a lot...so I really _really_ don’t care about Chanyeol romantically now.”

 

“That’s okay, just give Sehun some time and he’ll open up to you even more. Maybe he’ll even ask you on something like a date. He seems like he could be super romantic underneath all of the quietness…” Baekhyun dreamily trailed off, likely thinking about whoever he liked (the betas weren’t always sure who it was, but there was someone).

 

The friends waved goodbye before separating into the cars, Minseok taking Baekhyun and Jongdae taking Kyungsoo.

 

Jongdae noticed himself slowly falling more and more for the extremely tall, soft, and handsome Sehun. And for him, that was totally and completely okay.

 

  
**~**

 

“Since you have that huge crush on Sehun-”

 

“-Shh! Oh my **god** Baekhyun, why do you have to say it so loudly? I’m sure the entire cafeteria could hear you! I’m trying to not make it obvious to the world here!” Jongdae slapped his hand over Baekhyun’s mouth before he could do some serious damage.  

 

“I’m sure those that matter to you two have already picked up on it already, especially since you told the three of us. It’s endearing to see you two be all shy and quietly flirty.” Jongdae started intensely pouting at Minseok’s commentary and removing his hand from Baekhyun’s (loud) mouth. “Ahh, don’t be like that! It’s a very cute thought and I am one hundred percent sure that you guys would be really good for each other! Sehun is also so wonderfully tall and you’d be the perfect height for him, he could reach all of the cereal boxes for you!” Minseok clearly remembered the few sleepover days where Jongdae had to use a chair to reach the very tall cereal cabinet. To be fair, none of the four friends could.

 

“I can reach the cereal boxes just fine, thank you.” Jongdae crossed his arms. “It’s just the wheat thins in the back and those are gross.”

 

“Anyways, Minseok, what were you going to say before...that?” Kyungsoo desperately tried to steer the conversation away from the looming debate over Jongdae’s (‘totally non existent’) crush on Sehun.

 

“Yes, as I was saying before I was interrupted - don’t start with me again Jongdae - I have an idea on how to move Chanyeol out of the picture so that you can focus on Sehun.” Jongdae was suddenly paying very close attention.

 

“I think you could make Chanyeol jealous via Sehun. But not that asshole move where you are just dragging someone you don’t like into it all, that’s just mean. Chanyeol has some of the most possessive traits from what I’ve seen, god, he’s such an alpha sometimes. Sehun may be part of the group, but Chanyeol definitely has an unspoken rank above him and Jongin. Chanyeol calls the shots and Chanyeol gets what he wants before Jongin and Sehun, at least when it comes to social status things here and how students are with them.”

 

“Minseok~, since when were you the Chanyeol expert, that’s been my thing for years!!” Baekhyun whined. He always did have a weakness for the tall and gorgeous alpha. Just about everyone did at some point.

 

“Ever since I had to watch our poor and already stressed Jongdae suffer through the pick up line of ‘Your legs must be tired because you’ve been running through my mind all night.’  
  
Kyungsoo visibly cringed. “That’s actually terrible.” Minseok vigorously nodded his head in agreeance. It indeed was a bit of a train wreck, a few passerby had looked on with raised eyebrows or walked away laughing at the cheesiness.  
  
“But… how would making Chanyeol jealous help? It may only make it seem like he needs to do something more to attract Jongdae. If just flirting and pick up lines are already embarrassing him, then how do you think he would feel if Chanyeol outright serenaded him in the hallway to profess his affections? He’s the romantic type that would probably do that… Overall, it’s risky making an alpha jealous because it could hurt Sehun too if things went badly or if Chanyeol was not in a good mood already.” The table of friends exchanged uneasy glances at Kyungsoo’s thought. This whole ‘getting Chanyeol off Jongdae’s back but in a kind way’ business was a risk.  


“You’re right Soo. Jealousy may turn Chanyeol against Sehun and I don’t want to ruin friendships, especially theirs. But I trust that Chanyeol wouldn’t do anything to hurt Sehun. He may be strong and protective but Sehun is still his best friend. It has been months since all of this started, so if you want it to get somewhere, you’ll have to take the risk.”

 

“So...what do you think I should do?” Jongdae said, very lost.

 

“Next time, just put all of your focus into Sehun when they come around but in a friendly way rather than romantic right off the bat. Ask him about his weekend or evening, compliment what he’s wearing, or whatever feels right at the time. It’s just my idea. I’m sure that it’ll probably piss Chanyeol off quite a bit by not reacting to him, but I’m not sure that there’s a softer way to do it at this point. Almost like ripping off the band-aid so that he will completely get the message that you’re not interested.” Minseok looked hopefully at Jongdae. As his best friend, he wanted the other to have a good shot at a relationship with someone trusted. There wasn’t a single thing Minseok could find about Sehun that was untrustworthy.

 

Jongdae wasn’t actually against the whole plan. Sehun had been on his mind for a near constant basis ever since their very first day of meeting. He was always so nice, quiet, and on occasion very funny. Jongdae could tell that his crush was slowly growing towards infatuation as he learned more about Sehun and his mostly hidden personality. He loved how Sehun’s rare smile could legitimately light up a room and his quiet yet witty comments to Jongdae during finance class made his day.  
  
Jongdae also trusted the fact that Chanyeol seemed to bounce back after not-so-great situations, so he would probably be upset but eventually find someone else. If soulmates were truly a thing, then Chanyeol would definitely be fine and hopefully place his interest in finding who was right for him to settle down with.

 

“I… guess I could do that. Just not taking it too far and obvious that I’m doing something to piss off Chanyeol. I don’t want Sehun to feel like I’m using him because that’s the last thing that I would ever want to do. I feel like Sehun would be too scared to go after anyone he had the same interest with Chanyeol around, so maybe if I have some sort of romantic advance, we can take it further.” Jongdae quietly, and very begrudgingly agreed.  
  
Kyungsoo, Minseok, and Baekhyun all looked shocked because while Jongdae liked joking around, he liked keeping the peace more. He was willing to take the risk of majorly upsetting Chanyeol to hopefully gain Sehun and some breathing room in the long run. Some of the stronger alphas were known to completely become different people when they were angered or upset. Minseok’s idea could either work wonderfully or blow up in Jongdae’s face where all three alphas could turn their backs on him.    
  
Which meant that he really must like Sehun, possibly more than any of them had thought.

 

“Good luck dude. I’m sure everything will be fine. You’ll get Chanyeol off your back and get Sehun all in the same day.” Baekhyun wiggled his eyebrows.

 

Jongdae groaned for at least the tenth time today. “Let’s just hope this doesn’t end with Sehun being mad at me forever and Chanyeol exploding into a ball of rage in the hallway.”

 

“Hey, hey, what did I tell you? Positive thoughts!” Minseok smiled, causing a collective eye roll.

  


Jongdae slowly was seeing what his friends have been telling him; Sehun may feel the same romantic way in return. As one of the shyest boys in the entire school or that Jongdae had ever met, Sehun would make frequent attempts to have small conversations during their shared classes. Jongdae had never seen Sehun utter a word to someone outside of the school circle other than to members of his close-knit pack.

 

Jongdae deduced that Sehun prefered being observant and having a strong attention to detail. Jongdae would start their conversations, but it was Sehun who kept them rolling with his insight and witty comments on whatever topic Jongdae brought up that day.

 

As far as Jongdae was concerned, he would much rather have Sehun than Chanyeol. He wanted someone that made him feel warm and comfortable, someone to spend a lifetime with.

 

If Jongdae listened to his heart, he could clearly tell that it was favoring Sehun.

  
**~**

 

Thanks to Minseok’s brilliant idea, Jongdae had never felt more prepared for the morning locker pick up line routine. Sure enough, Jongdae had just gathered all his books into his backpack for the morning and closed the door to be greeted by Chanyeol approaching, followed by Jongin and Sehun. Jongin didn’t look to be having the best day already, so Jongdae felt worried and made a note to ask how he was doing in Finance. Sehun looked bright and happy to see Jongdae, in his own way but with a new and gorgeous head of platinum blond hair. Chanyeol looked good, great even, as he nearly ran over to Jongdae’s locker looking very awake for 7:30 in the morning. As usual.

 

“So Jongdae, -”

 

“Sehun! Is your hair color new? Ooh, I really love it! Doesn’t it make your eyes look gorgeous?” Jongdae beamed up and reached a hand into Sehun’s new blonde hair. He ran his fingers through it a few times with Sehun’s cheeks growing warm and pink. He tilted his head down slightly so Jongdae could reach better, the other was raising up slightly on his toes already.

  


Pure happiness clashed with anger and hatred as the air was permeated with Chanyeol’s release of confusion and furious rage. No one had ever blatantly ignored him, the strongest and most capable alpha of the entire school, in favor of this weak one that was only alpha by title and not by action.  


“I dyed it last night by myself…” Sehun directed a cute and small smile at Jongdae, who had his hand moved to cup the side of his blushing face.

 

“What the hell?” Chanyeol glared right at the spot where Jongdae’s hand was.

 

Jongdae removed his hand slowly, glaring at the interruption. He was enjoying the soft warmth coming from Sehun’s furiously blushing cheek. His own heart was pounding with emotion, half coming from worry about Chanyeol and the other half due to the close proximity.

 

“Chanyeol, I can talk to whoever I want to.”

 

“...I know, but…”

 

“It’s been over a month, please understand that I am not romantically interested in you. You’re a great guy, but I don’t think it would ever work out. We can still be friends though?”

 

Chanyeol was crushed. Jongdae could tell by the way that his face fell from one of clear anger to one of zero emotion.

 

“Anyways, Sehun, can you help me with the philosophy work for tonight at lunch? I have an extra hour of chorus practice after school, so I don’t have much time at home for this. And I’m very confused. Please please please?”

 

Sehun gave (a very hopeful looking) Jongdae a bright eye smile.

“Sure, Jongdae. I’ll get my textbook before lunch.”

 

“You’re a lifesaver, see you soon!” Jongdae reached out to gently touch Sehun’s arm in thanks before briskly walking away. He wanted to get out of there before Chanyeol became legitimately furious or terribly sad. It could go either way from what Jongdae was seeing, and he really didn’t want to see Chanyeol on the verge of crying and yelling (probably at the same time).

 

It was a mess, but Jongdae felt that something had to happen if he ever wanted to get to know Sehun outside of the cinder block walls of school. Chanyeol meant well, but the whole dynamic was stuck in a rut that no one really seemed to like.

 

 

 

 

The next day, Chanyeol came up by himself to Jongdae’s locker and said a quiet apology, which Jongdae absolutely refused to accept because there was nothing at all that Chanyeol needed to apologize for. The two agreed to be platonic friends, and Jongdae wrapped a very surprised Chanyeol in a tight hug (which was received very well and Jongdae noted for Baekhyun’s reference that Chanyeol gave _fantastic_ hugs.) Before leaving, Chanyeol said, “Maybe it’s good this happened, because I ran out of pick up lines. I had been keeping a list and the last few were absolutely terrible, as I’m sure you...noticed.” Jongdae laughed because really, they were terrible.

 

“My favorite was still ‘If I was an octopus, all my 3 hearts would beat for you.’ That one was good!!” Chanyeol made a sad whining noise of regret, that was one of the embarrassing ones.

  


Chanyeol’s end-of-the-day greetings changed to just short and sweet (friendly) compliments as well as ‘you look really pretty today, Jongdae!’ the one day that Jongdae wore a brand new black silky shirt. Jongdae could tell that Chanyeol’s ulterior motive had changed because he couldn’t sense any underlying desire for anything romantic. Long gone were the times where Chanyeol spent a solid minute looking over Jongdae’s appearance favorably. It seemed as if though Chanyeol stopped with many romantic advances, he kept with the little here and there flirtations just to be kind and have fun in a friendly way.

 

Jongdae smiled at Chanyeol, responding with “Thanks, that’s very kind of you!” instead of just nodding like he usually would. Everything seemed to have a casual and platonic flow to it anymore, which was giving Jongdae a nice break to worry about grades and tests instead. Usually, Chanyeol and Jongdae would just make jokes back and forth about the terrible teachers and funny things that their friends had done during the day. Both of them loved to laugh, so the friendship was definitely good.

  


As they did every day after school, Chanyeol, Jongin, and Sehun walked with Jongdae to the back lobby of the school after Jongdae had gathered all he needed to take home from his locker.

 

“Have a good weekend, and don't forget your part of our finance paper!!” Jongin teased Jongdae, knowing full well that there was zero chance that Jongdae would forget.

 

Jongdae laughed and waved to Jongin and Chanyeol as they walked over to the left side parking lot where Chanyeol’s sleek midnight blue Mercedes gleamed in the sun. Jongin lived right next door to Chanyeol, which was the reason why the two have been such close friends for a very long time. Inseparable, really. Sehun drove himself to and from school typically, though some mornings he would ride with Chanyeol and Jongin. It was always quite the sight to see the three most gorgeous alphas at school come out of one car, almost like a handful of greek gods themselves.

 

Today, instead of leaving Jongdae at the lobby doors and going to his car across the lot, Sehun hung around silently.

 

“So how was your day?” Jongdae looked up at the other.

 

“I passed my calculus unit test, that was awesome I guess. Nothing else really happened today when you weren’t around.” Sehun shrugged. Jongdae felt a soft warmth grow inside his chest.

He may not have meant to, but Sehun never failed to make Jongdae feel special.

 

“Ahh, I’m so proud of you Sehunnie! You studied well!” Jongdae reached up and patted Sehun on his shoulder.

 

Sehun gave Jongdae a wide eye smile, the moments that used to make Sehun flare up with bright red blushing cheeks were long gone as he became more comfortable around Jongdae.

 

Conversation faded into the two appreciating the bright sunny afternoon for a few moments of peaceful quiet.

 

“Hey Jongdae...are you doing anything this weekend?” Sehun asked very hesitantly, breaking the silence.

 

“I have to pick up my aunt and uncle from the airport this evening since my parents will be too busy cleaning up our house to do the driving themselves. Other than that, I’m free Saturday and Sunday! I could always use a good reason to not spend time with my aunt and uncle, they're so terribly nosy about my life.”

 

“If you want to get out of the house, maybe we could get bubble tea on Saturday?” Sehun’s voice faded as he looked over to see a slightly shellshocked Jongdae with wide eyes and mouth open partially. “But only if you would want to!”

 

Jongdae shook his head quickly, “No! I would love to go with you, I’m glad you asked. I was trying to think of something to ask you for some time now.”

 

It was Sehun’s turn to be quite surprised. Jongdae could see wheels spinning rapidly behind his eyes. “You’re really nice, so I would really like to spend time with you outside of school to get to know you better.” Jongdae inwardly prayed that Sehun’s silence was just him processing information and not thinking about ways to let him down.

 

“...I would really like that.” Sehun finally spoke after what felt like an eternity of Jongdae feeling his heart race and his hands become clammy.

 

Jongdae breathed out a happy sigh of relief, it seemed as if his friends really were right about Sehun’s feelings. “I’ll give you my number, let me know where you want to go! My parents are probably going to take the car to take my aunt and uncle out to eat and visit the rest of the family on Saturday, so I’ll need a ride if you can.”

 

Jongdae scribbled down his number and tore it off the corner a piece of notebook paper shoved into his pocket, handing it over to a (still) very pink-faced Sehun.

 

“I can pick you up, can you text me your address too?” Jongdae agreed, it was best that Sehun drove since he hadn’t been to the tea shop. Directions weren’t his forte.

 

Jongdae waved and smiled as Sehun tightly clutched the torn paper as if it was pure gold while parting off to his black car an entire lot away from Jongdae’s.

 

**~**

 

Saturday afternoon came quickly, and before Jongdae knew it, Sehun was pulling up into the half moon arc at the entrance to Jongdae’s large grey stone house. He drove a sleek black Audi that just screamed ‘expensive’, but Sehun’s boyish and casual hoodie stood in stark contrast as he stepped out of the car with a beaming smile in greeting.

 

Sehun jogged over to the front steps where Jongdae stood, wearing slightly frayed black jeans and a burgundy button up shirt with tiny white dots. “Jongdae! You look really nice!”

 

Jongdae returned Sehun’s bright smile as he met him halfway on the stairs. Jongdae caught Sehun’s nervous darting glances at his hand, so he took the initiative to reach out and grab onto Sehun’s hand instead. “Thanks, you look really good too!” And of course, Sehun did. Dark wash denim jeans and a grey university hoodie looked decent on anyone, but Sehun made it look fantastic. Model-like, even.

 

Opening the door like a true gentleman, Sehun helped Jongdae into the classy car before moving around to his side and starting the drive out from the house.

 

A comfortable silence settled over the two as Sehun navigated through the streets to come to a section of town with colorful shop windows and banners lining both sides of the street. The sun was beaming down, but the day still had a bit of spring chill in the air. The sidewalks were partially filled with people walking around, enjoying the air and making a few purchases in the small food and shopping district.

 

Pulling into a street parking space, Sehun unbuckled his seat belt, getting out of the car to beat Jongdae at opening his door. “After you,” Sehun said with a grand sweep of his arm.

 

Jongdae laughed, this date was definitely relaxed than he was anticipating. None of the awkward conversations or dead silences.

 

The pair walked side by side, commenting on the sights of the district. Jongdae loved the decorations of a Belgian cafe further down the street, so Sehun promised to take him there one day.

 

The two soon reached a shop with white tables and chairs set up outside the glass double doors with baby blue frames. Sehun reached for the door, but Jongdae had beat him to it. “Nope, you may be my alpha, but I’m not an omega so I can still open doors for you.”

It took a moment, but Jongdae realized what he had mentioned. He called Sehun _his_ alpha. _His._

 

Sehun clearly noticed, his eyes wide as he smiled and walked through the doorway, Jongdae trailing behind, ears red with embarrassment. He couldn’t help it, he may or may not have spent a few weeks prior thinking about Sehun being his very own alpha.

 

Sehun strolled further into the colorful and sweet-smelling bubble tea shop, linking arms with Jongdae to pull him alongside. “Come on then, let your alpha get you some bubble tea.”

 

The menu hanging above the workstations behind the counter was filled with a large variety of flavors, the two spending a good five minutes before deciding on what to order. Sehun chose chocolate milk tea while Jongdae wanted mocha. The two decided on a booth near the back of the store, Sehun pulling Jongdae there because he was drawn to the pretty circular lights hanging over only the back section’s ceiling.

 

Jongdae didn’t mind, he liked the lighting bouncing off the pretty tables with glass pieces scattered throughout the material. Bella Bubbles was definitely a good first date place.

 

The two exchanged basic first date small talk, favorite colors and the likes of such. Within a short few minutes, the two had their bubble teas and were sipping happily.

 

Jongdae soon learned that once upon a time, Sehun took ballet and hip hop lessons (of which he may, or may not be, still taking) and that the two were planning on going to the same university at the end of senior year. He quickly learned that his date was the type of person that once they would become comfortable, they would open up from their safe cocoon of shyness.

 

“I’ve seen you with your friends; Minseok, Kyungsoo, and Baekhyun before but I haven’t gotten to know them. What are they like?” Jongdae was a little bit surprised but very touched by Sehun’s willingness to open himself up to Jongdae’s friends. Sehun wasn’t exactly known to want friendships outside of Jongin and Chanyeol or the close circle of popular alphas.

 

“First, there’s Kyungsoo. He’s my best friend, and we’ve known each other since probably forever. He’s the kindest and best listener out of everyone. Minseok is the oldest of us all, and he’s really kind too, he looks out for all of us a lot. Baekhyun is a little shit, but we love him dearly. He’s also infatuated with Chanyeol, so it made the past few months a bit awkward.”

 

“Y’know, I think Chanyeol is secretly after the little Byun omega that hangs around you at school. Says he’s the cutest thing that he has ever seen. As long as Chanyeol leaves you to me, I could care less about who he’s after next.” Sehun poked around his tea with his green straw, shrugging.

 

 _God_ , Sehun really could make Jongdae’s heart beat with racing speed. He waited a bit to calm his heart before responding, “I’m glad that he’s changed his attention to someone that can give him more than I ever could in return. I was hoping he would find someone else, and that I didn’t hurt his heart too badly.”

 

“He’s a strong guy, even without ever having a rejection before, I’m sure he will be just fine. But enough about Chanyeol, let’s talk about something else. What do you like doing?” Sehun asked for his own reasons of needing ideas if (as he hoped) Jongdae liked the first date enough to go on many more.

 

“Oh, I love to sing! I’ve been trying to get into writing lyrics lately too, but I have had too many assignments to complete for school.”

 

Sehun hummed in agreement, “I’m terrible at singing, but we can still go to karaoke sometime. And I understand, there’s so much work that it feels like drowning sometimes. At least it’ll be over soon, there’s only just a few more weeks.”

 

Before they knew it, the bubble teas were drunk and the two felt closer than before. Sehun did feel proud that his date idea was a success, and Jongdae was in a blissful state of happiness.

 

Sehun slide out from his side of the bench and offered Jongdae his hand to stand. Jongdae interlaced their fingers with a bright smile as they walked out of the store and into the streets.

 

“I have to ask you something, though.” Jongdae spoke up halfway through the walk. “Do you see us as friends or was that something more?”

 

“Jongdae, we are literally holding hands. I didn’t think this was just friends getting together.”

 

“I mean, yeah…”

 

Sehun pulled their joined hands up to kiss the back of Jongdae’s hand. “It’s definitely a date, don’t worry about it. Let’s go on more soon because this was really fun.”

 

Jongdae sputtered, mind not making coherent thoughts as Sehun led him back to the car.

 

Did that really just happen? _Oh, it definitely happened._

 

**~**

 

On the Monday back to school, Minseok, Kyungsoo, and Baekhyun were greeted with Sehun’s black Audi pulling into what was Jongdae's parking spot.

 

Furthermore, after Sehun got out of the driver’s side, the right passenger door opened and Jongdae stepped out of the car and slung his backpack onto his shoulder. Sehun walked to beside Jongdae and held his hand, lacing their fingers together followed by a short kiss on his cheek.  


Jongdae, slightly in cloud nine, waved with his free hand at the three standing in the doorway to be let into school. Minseok slapped Kyungsoo’s arm with his mouth hanging open in shock. Baekhyun’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he dropped his notebook stack.

 

“You didn’t tell them yet?” Sehun laughed.

 

“I didn’t think to, not that I had much time to anyways!” Jongdae protested, swinging their hands as they both walked to the trio at the school entrance.

  


“Kim Jongdae, how could you not tell me? Your best friend??” Kyungsoo glared at his approaching best friend, Sehun being pulled along. Jongdae knew it was Kyungsoo’s ‘not mad but still upset about being left out’ face.

 

“I didn’t tell anyone yet, I was going to tell you...now? It has only been two days anyway.” Jongdae looked up at Sehun who was biting back a smile at the tiny betas.

“I took him on a date on Saturday to a bubble tea cafe, if that helps? We texted a lot over the weekend too.”

 

Minseok smiled up at Sehun. “It’s okay, we all support you two and wish you the best! Give Kyungsoo a little bit of time, but he’s thrilled too.”

 

“Yes, yes, I'm extremely happy for you both but _really_ Jongdae make sure to tell me next time so I don't have a near heart attack when you casually roll up with a boyfriend on a Monday morning. Let me live to graduation, _please_.”

 

Jongdae laughed, detaching his hand from Sehun’s to hug Kyungsoo, which soon turned into a giant hug when Baekhyun clung on followed by Minseok awkwardly tried to squish in, laughing and gesturing Sehun into the pile as well. The group hugged it out for a bit, before awkward splitting because others had filed into the back parking lot and were staring.

 

Minseok, Kyungsoo, and Baekhyun walked in the doors to the lobby, Jongdae and Sehun trailing behind, hands finding their way back together because it simply felt natural to them.  
  
Students filling the hallway immediately took to notice the school’s shy alpha holding tightly onto Jongdae’s tiny hand and shoulders pressed closely together. Sehun froze, eyebrows furrowing. “Jongdae, are you sure about this?”

 

“As long as you are okay with it, I’m okay. We will do whatever you are comfortable with.”

 

“School is over in a few weeks, and honestly I never cared what everyone thought about me. Maybe they’ll finally stop talking like you are Chanyeol’s. That was annoying.” Sehun smirked and threw his arm down around Jongdae’s shoulder and pulled him close.   

 

Jongdae, once reaching his locker, gathered his books and noticed Chanyeol peeking out from the crowd of students nearby. His height was always a dead giveaway. “Chanyeol, hey!!” Jongdae called out and waved with his free arm.

  


Chanyeol walked over to Jongdae's locker, much like every other day for months, and looked at Sehun dead in the eye.

 

“Keep Jongdae safe, okay? He’s very, very special.”

 

Sehun gave Chanyeol a nod before looking down at a beaming Jongdae. “Yes, he really is. I’ll do everything that I can to protect him and care for him.”

 

“Oh come here,” Jongdae pulled Chanyeol into a tight hug, the taller stumbling the short distance. “I’m sorry I’m not the one meant for you, but you’re still an amazing guy and I know the right person is out there for you somewhere.” Chanyeol ducked his head into Jongdae’s shoulder, sniffling and tears starting to fall. Jongdae patted down Chanyeol’s mess of red hair, calming the other down in a few moments.

 

“You’re too nice, damn it. How could anyone not love you.” Chanyeol laughed and released the other from the tiny crying session.

 

Sehun looked proudly down at Jongdae, boldy kissing his cheek. Jongdae outright giggled, burrowing into Sehun’s broad chest in an attempt to hide his furiously red cheeks.

 

“Ahhh, you two are adorable together!” Chanyeol clapped his hands. “I wish you both the best, and Sehun, are we still on for dinner on Friday?”

 

“Of course we are, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

 

Jongdae felt as if the world was finally at peace. He had Sehun, his official boyfriend, and Chanyeol took the hard rejection well and everyone maintained a good relationship at the end of the day. All was well, and it was more than Jongdae had ever hoped for.

  


**~**   _Epilogue_   **~**

 

 

The last few weeks of school were spent in a chaotic bliss, the group of seniors preparing to head off to college and making all sorts of adult decisions. Sehun and Jongdae planned to room together in an apartment close to campus, their parents (especially Jongdae’s) were completely in favor of the idea.

 

Baekhyun ended up getting what he (apparently) had been desiring for a while, Chanyeol asked him on a date at his locker after a week of being friends, while the three beta friends looked on happily from behind a door. Baekhyun was beyond thrilled, and all could tell that he was the one that Chanyeol was searching for the whole time by the way that the two hit it off instantly.

 

Jongin found good companionship with Kyungsoo, each ‘losing’ their best friends as soon as Jongdae and Sehun saw each other and became literally attached. The two clicked well, Jongdae’s best friend senses told him there could be something more, but the two seemed to just like being close friends.

 

Minseok was dutifully ‘married to his studies’ as he proclaimed many times. He would bother with a relationship later, he enjoyed being the bachelor of the group (as he put it).

 

Sehun and Jongdae’s casual dates became more and more serious, the two becoming very close in creating a strong relationship that weathered the storm of fights and disagreements. The two shared their first official kiss under a starry sky, something that Jongdae can remember simply because he references it to his best friends just about every other day.

  
  


It’s a magical thing, really. The way that Jongdae’s head fits perfectly into Sehun’s shoulder, height difference being the definition of perfect. Many times, Jongdae had playfully joked with Sehun about his (very) broad shoulders being big enough to land planes.

 

Sehun found much of his own enjoyment in resting his head down onto Jongdae’s tiny but sturdy shoulders.

 

While Sehun wasn’t the stereotypical strong and outwardly possessive alpha, he still showed how much he absolutely treasured Jongdae in every small motion.

 

Pressing the softest of kisses into Jongdae’s shoulder as a goodbye before releasing him from the hug to drive home at the end of a day.

 

Wrapping his long arms from behind Jongdae to hold him close in the crowded hallways because ‘ _You’re mine, so beta or not, I am still going to protect you. You mean the world to me.’_

 

Jongdae was in love, and so was Sehun. He confessed shortly after their tenth date, and Jongdae had cried over it all even though he won’t admit it. Sehun had swept Jongdae up into his embrace and soothingly patted his back while repeating ‘ _I love you, I love you, I love you’_ over and over.

  
  


To Sehun, Jongdae felt like home.

 

A home that he would have for the rest of his years.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:
> 
> First of all, I learned that you can't start college as a neuroscience major and write a 10K fic at the same time. At least, not without the help of my absolutely wonderful beta F. Thank you for telling me things sounded weird, or that something was a terrible idea. Your encouragement and constant love helped me through many long nights!  
> To the prompter, thank you!!! I had a lot of fun with this prompt and it eventually took on a mind of its own. I hope it did it justice for you.  
> The wonderful, wonderful, mods of this ficfest - you all are honestly the best. Thank you for all of your hard work and helpful advice!!!  
> If you've read all of the way to down here, thank you. I really hope you enjoyed this!  
> I am tossing around the idea of creating a small epilogue, I'll see dependent upon the other works (including essays for college) that I have in the near future. It would be 70% about ChanBaek, they deserve a happy ending too :)
> 
> All my love, with all my heart  
> Luckyyeol


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